近代日本の教科書における富士山の象徴性

Abstract

The symbolic landscapes of a nation are important clues to the human-landscape relation, which is an aspect of the relationship between the people and their environment. Mt. Fuji was long the typical symbolic landscape of modern Japan, as can be seen in textbooks for use in elementary schools. I examined the symbolism of Mt. Fuji in textbooks to suggest tendencies in the relationships between Japanese and their environment. The results are as follows: 1) Mt. Fuji appeared in the primary school textbooks from Meiji Era until 1945. The mountain was presented as the sublimest mountain in Japan through textbooks for reading, drawing, and singing, whose contents were inter connected. Consequently, children learned a certain image of Mt. Fuji. 2) Mt. Fuji was praised as the sublimest mountain of Japan in order to make children sympathize with the sentiments of Japanese adults, who were supposed to admire Mt. Fuji. At the same time, children were taught that the national sentiment was focused on the image of Mt. Fuji. 3) The relation between the nation and school children as illustrated in teaching materials concerning Mt. Fuji is shown graphically in Fig. 5. The materials formalized the appearance of Mt. Fuji and formed a specific image of it. Children learned the materials and internalized a certain image of the mountain. The image validated the content of the materials and suggested the national sentiment. Through this process of learning, children came to obscurely understand the concept of a national sentiment. 4) The national sentiment of Japan that was used as a unifying concept was a Vague idea escaping logical grasp; therefore the education inevitably stressed impressions rather than logic. Mt. Fuji was seen to be the best material for that kind of education. 5) The relation between Mt. Fuji and the national sentiment seems to have been sustained by an “intentionality to legitimacy”. The national sentiment was supposed to have legitimacy, although the foundation of that legitimacy was not shown. On the other hand, Mt. Fuji was given legitimacy through the formalization of its appearance. Therefore, Mt. Fuji was chosen as the image of legitimacy to suggest the content of the national sentiment.